Three alumni recognized with awards
The 7th Annual Alumni Auction and Party held in April raised more than $18,000 to support the Alumni Association Legacy Endowed Scholarship fund. During the event, three Virginia Wesleyan alumni were honored with awards.
Elizabeth F. Middleton '91 and George A. Lyle '88 were recognized with Alumni Service Awards, recognizing outstanding continuing service to the College as a whole and/or meritorious public service on a local, state, national or international level. Marcia G. Derrick, Ph.D. '82 was recognized with a Distinguished Alumnus Award, recognizing an alumnus who has attained distinguished achievements in a professional capacity.
Middleton graduated from Wesleyan with a B.A. in art. She serves as secretary/
treasurer of E. G. Middleton, Inc., a leading electrical contractor in Hampton
Roads. Middleton served as chair of Wesleyan's President's Advisory Council
for three years and remains on the Council.
She is active in the Women of Wesleyan (WOW), served as the WOW President for four years, and served as the chair of the committee to establish the Barclay Sheaks Art Gallery on campus. She has a long list of volunteer accolades in the Hampton Roads community, including with the Children's Health Foundation and Norfolk City Union of the King's Daughters, and as past president of the Bayside Junior Women's Club, treasurer for the Circle of Service, Dreambuilder for the Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters and member of the Norfolk Society of Arts, Chrysler Museum.
Lyle graduated from Wesleyan with a B.A. in English and from the University
of Dayton School of Law in Ohio. He has served as the County Attorney for
Henry County, Va., since April 2003, advising both the County Board of Supervisors
and the County School Board on all civil legal matters relating to the County.
Lyle currently serves as chairman of the Virginia Museum of Natural History
Board of Trustees and as a Governor's appointee to the Board of the New
College Institute. He served eight years as member and two years as chairman
of the Blue Ridge Regional Library Board of Trustees and is the 2005 recipient
of the Virginia Library Association Trustee of the Year Award and the Virginia
Public Library Directors Outstanding Trustee Award.
Derrick graduated from Wesleyan with a B.A. in secondary education with
an endorsement in general science and pre-algebra. After leaving the College,
she went on to The George Washington University where she earned a M.A.
in education and human development with an endorsement in secondary administration
and a doctorate of education in higher education administration. Derrick,
an associate professor in the School of Education at Regent University,
teaches in the online doctor of education program. Prior to this position,
Derrick spent most of her career in various positions with the Virginia
Beach City Public Schools. She has published numerous papers and presented
at many conferences and symposia in the area of adult learning, motivation
and self-efficacy.